FarmerCon X

WHERE & WHEN:

Thursday, August 13th – Sunday, August 16th 2015 in Columbus, OH at PulpFest!

WHERE TO STAY:

For the fourth year PulpFest will be held at the beautiful downtown Columbus Hyatt.

You can reserve a room at the special convention rate of $116 per night plus tax, which includes one free parking pass and free Wi-Fi, if you do so by July 1, 2015. Additional cars will be charged at the discounted rate of $10 overnight with in/out privileges.

HOW TO REGISTER:

To sign up for FarmerCon X, first email mike @ pjfarmer.com to be added to the email list and facebook group.

While there is no charge to attend FarmerCon X, you must Register with PulpFest to attend. If you are staying at the Hyatt, a three-day pass costs $30. If you are not staying at the Hyatt it costs $35. If you are staying at the Hyatt you also get to participate in early-bird shopping on Thursday evening for free (it costs an extra $30 if you are staying elsewhere).

If you will be traveling to Columbus and staying overnight, we urge you to book a room at the Columbus Hyatt. The $114 per night room rate is a great deal, and being in the same hotel gives FarmerCon attendees that much more time to hang out.

PROGRAMMING:

The 2015 Programming Schedule has not been set yet, but below is a list of all of PulpFest's 2014 official programming, with FarmerCon IX programming highlighted to give you an idea of what to expect.

Farmer fans will likely find much of the other excellent programming of interest as well. Additionally there will be book signings and opportunities for FarmerCon X attendees to hang out together and eat together. And there is always something interesting to read in our (collectible?) programs. Be sure to look for the Meteor House table in the Dealers' Room.

Thursday, August 7th

4:00 PM – 11:00 PM – Dealer Set-Up – the dealers’ room will be open to dealers to assemble their displays.
4:30 PM – Ohio State Lecture Series – author and pulp fan Laurie Powers will be speaking about her grandfather, the noted pulp writer Paul Powers, at Ohio State’s Thompson Library. PulpFest members are invited to attend this annual lecture sponsored by Ohio State University.
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Early Registration – general members and dealers will be able to register for PulpFest.
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM - Early-Bird Shopping – the dealers’ room will be open to loyal attendees who help to defray the convention’s costs by staying three nights at our host hotel.Evening Programming
8:00 PM – The Plot Genie – Pulp AdventureCon‘s Rich Harvey analyzes Wycliffe Hill’s 20th-century gizmo that “helped” writers generate story ideas by twirling a cardboard wheel to find plot points. Rich will challenge a panel of pulpsters to come up with a coherent narrative using the wacky device.
9:00 PM – Frank Munsey’s Famous Fantastic Mysteries – Blood ‘n’ Thunder editor Ed Hulse and author Nathan Madison discuss this reprint magazine, one of the major science-fiction titles started in 1939. It introduced new readers to the classic “scientific romances” that originally appeared in the premier Munsey magazines The Argosy and All-Story Weekly.
9:30 PM - The Avenger’s Diamond Jubilee – in 1939, Richard Henry Benson, the chalk-faced crime fighter who founded “Justice, Incorporated,” was the last of Street & Smith’s major pulp heroes to get his own magazine. Preeminent pulp authority Will Murray offers a behind-the-scenes history of the character’s creation and development.
10:00 PM - FarmerCon IX Panel – a distinguished panel of Farmerphiles discusses the life and works of Grand Master of Science Fiction Philip José Farmer.
11:00 PM - Buck Rogers – Chapters 1 – 4 of this science fiction classic from 1939, this Universal serial starred Larry “Buster” Crabbe as the time-traveling hero introduced in Philip Nowlan’s 1928 pulp novella “Armageddon 2419 A.D.”

Friday, August 8th

9:00 AM – 10 AM - Early Registration – all members will be able to register for PulpFest. The dealers’ room will be open only to dealers for set-up.
10:00 AM – 5 PM – Wheeling and Dealing – the dealers’ room will be open to all.
1:00 PM – The New Fictioneers – a leading author of “new pulp” fiction will read from a selection of his or her work.
2:00 PM - The New Fictioneers – a leading author of “new pulp” fiction will read from a selection of his or her work.
3:00 PM – The New Fictioneers – a leading author of “new pulp” fiction will read from a selection of his or her work.Evening Programming
7:30 PM – Welcome to PulpFest – Chairman Jack Cullers offers an official welcome to all attendees
7:40 PM - 1939: Science Fiction’s Boom Year – a brief overview of the “big bang” that launched six science-fiction pulps and ushered in the genre’s Golden Age.
8:00 PM - Startling Stories: An Overview – designed as a companion to Thrilling Wonder Stories, this pulp outlasted most of its competitors and became one of the most respected science-fiction pulps in the field. PulpFest‘s Ed Hulse presents a slideshow of Startling’s 99 covers and touches on the many famous yarns published in its pages.
8:30 PM - A Feast of Farmer: PJF’s Early Science Fiction – Meteor House publisher Mike Croteau reviews Philip José Farmer’s pulp and digest stories, including “The Lovers,” a classic tale from Startling Stories that pioneered the intelligent use of sex in science fiction.
9:00 PM - Pulp Premiums and Promotions – in a sequel to his extremely well-received presentation of last year, Chris Kalb takes another look at the now-rare premiums that pulp fans of yore could obtain for a dime and a coupon.
9:30 PM - Eighty Years of Terror - weird-menace fiction was less than a year old when its most successful and long-lasting exponent, Terror Tales, first appeared on the nation’s newsstands in the summer of 1934. A blue-ribbon panel of fans and collectors weighs in on this Popular Publications title, as well as other shudder pulps.
10:30 PM - Science Fiction’s “Golden Age” - under the editorship of John W. Campbell, Street & Smith’s Astounding Science Fiction was the genre’s trend setter, introducing many of the field’s top authors and publishing some of its most memorable stories. This presentation reviews Astounding’s 1939 issues, which featured the early fiction of Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, and A. E. van Vogt.
11:00 PM - Buck Rogers - Chapters 5 – 8 follows Buck and his pal Buddy Wade in their battle against the ruthless dictator, Killer Kane, and his army of super-racketeers.

Saturday, August 9th

9:00 AM – 5 PM – Wheeling and Dealing – the dealers’ room will be open to all.
1:00 PM - New Pulp Fiction Panel – moderator Ron Fortier is joined by several “new pulp” writers in a discussion of this exciting, new fiction genre.
2:00 PM - The New Fictioneers – a leading author of “new pulp” fiction will read from a selection of his or her work.
3:00 PM - The New Fictioneers – a leading author of “new pulp” fiction will read from a selection of his or her work.
5:00 PM – 7 PM - Saturday Night Dinner – join your fellow fans of pulp fiction for a delightful meal at Buca di Beppo in this get-together arranged by registration and volunteer coordinator Sally Cullers.Evening Programming
7:30 PM – PulpFest 2014 Business Meeting – all members are invited to ask questions and offer suggestions at this session.
7:50 PM – 2014 Munsey Award Presentation – Pop Culture Professor and unabashed pulp fan Garyn G. Roberts will present this year’s Munsey Award to a select individual.
8:00 PM - Unknown: The Best in Fantasy Fiction – celebrate the 75th birthday of Street & Smith’s Unknown, the home to many of the pulp era’s most memorable—and oft-anthologized—fantasy and horror stories. We revisit the magazine’s highlights in this brief tribute.
8:30 PM - The Mystery and Mastery of John Newton Howitt –art historian David Saunders chronicles the life and career of this prolific pulp artist, paying special attention to his memorable covers for the Popular Publications weird-menace magazines Terror Tales and Horror Stories.
9:30 PM – Saturday Night at the Auction – auctioneers John Gunnison and Joseph Saine are back to sell rare collectibles consigned by PulpFest dealers and attendees.
11:30 PM – Buck Rogers - Chapters 9 – 12 bring the 1939 Universal serial directed by Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind to an exciting and satisfying close.

Sunday, August 10th

Daytime Schedule
9:00 AM – 2 PM – Wheeling and Dealing – the dealers’ room will be open to all as our dealers pack up. Buying and selling opportunities may be limited.